2012-13 CSU Men's Basketball Schedule Announced

CLEVELAND, Ohio - A trip to the NIT Season Tipoff and a 15-game home schedule, highlighted by a game against local rival Kent State and a return BracketBuster contest against Old Dominion highlight the 2012-13 Cleveland State men's basketball schedule that was announced on Tuesday afternoon.

"I believe we were able to put together a challenging schedule this year that will be a test from the November through the end of the year," head coach Gary Waters said. "We have had veteran teams in the past, but this year will be different with so many younger players.

"Our motto this year is that we must finish strong. We are very excited about the potential of this year's team and the schedule we are going to play will help to develop us for the end of the season."

Following the lone exhibition game of the preseason against Malone on Nov. 6, the Vikings begin the regular season with a 7:30 p.m. contest against Grambling (Nov. 9) at the Wolstein Center as part of a doubleheader with the CSU women's team.

CSU then heads to Ann Arbor, Mich., for two games in the NIT Season Tipoff, starting with a 6:00 p.m. game against Bowling Green on Nov. 12. Michigan will host IUPUI in the other first round game with the two winners and two losers meeting the following night.

If the Vikings win the Ann Arbor North Regional, CSU will advance to New York City for the semifinals and finals of the NIT Season Tipoff on Nov. 23 & 25 at Madison Square Garden.

If CSU does not advance to New York, the Vikings will play two consolation round games on Nov. 19-20 at a site to be determined.

The Vikings are the No. 7 seed in the tournament and the top three seeds not advancing to New York will host games on Nov. 19-20, meaning CSU could host two additional home games.

A home game against Old Dominion on Nov. 17 will split the NIT contests up.

November concludes with a trip to Ball State on the 28th. CSU returns home to host Toledo on Dec. 1 and travels to North Carolina State, a team that advanced to the Sweet 16 last season, for a Dec. 8 game.

The rest of the December schedule has the Vikings playing at St. Bonaventure (Dec. 15), hosting Notre Dame College on Dec. 19, playing at Akron on Dec. 23 and hosting Rio Grande (Dec. 28).

The New Year begins with Kent State visiting the Wolstein Center on Jan. 2 with the 16-game Horizon League schedule starting at defending regular season champion Valparaiso on Jan. 4.

The league home opener is against UIC on Jan. 7 with other Horizon League home games against Detroit (Jan. 12), Loyola (Jan. 23), Youngstown State (Feb. 5), Valparaiso (Feb. 9), Green Bay (Feb. 15), Milwaukee (Feb. 17) and Wright State (Feb. 20).

The only break from league action comes on Feb. 23 when CSU takes part in the 10th annual ESPNU BracketBusters. The Vikings will play a road game versus an opponent that will be determined in early February.

Regular season play ends on March 1 at Loyola with the first round of the Horizon League Championship on March 5 at campus sites. The league final will be held on Tuesday, March 12.